Thursday, October 29, 2015

Zafari with a Zee

If there is one thing worse than being mauled to death by a zombie, it's when the zombie that mauls you is a clone of yourself. It's bad for you, but it's super fun for those who see it happen. 
This is not a B move, it's an A+ immersive experience available on OSGrid thanks to the creative gorgeousness of Total Sorbet and Michelle Theiss.
Left to right: me in awe of script genius Total Sorbet and builder Michelle Theiss

This game is open 24/7 on sim Outbreak, OSGrid. HG addresses as always at the bottom of the post.
Relax in the main square, and cam out to watch other players - a great layout

The game has a straightforward shoot 'em up format, but to make this work in OpenSim, when you've got about 25 avies all running on the same region, is a tour de force. 

Snowbody enters the game through the blood red portal

Both Michelle and Total modestly credit the other for the beautiful blending of excellent scripts with wonderfully atmospheric buildings, modeled on an old French or German town, rather than the usual post apocalyptic setting people usually go for in Zombie games. 
Spike kills yet another

It's huge fun to watch other people play, and many of us sat in the town square and just followed other players with the camera. 
Arca being killed by zombie Arca

Standouts were Spike SolArcanquest Franksnowbody CortesSunbeam Magic
Sunbeam the Fairy - armed and dangerous


and Aime Socrates who blew us all away with his amazing time of over 6 minutes and more than 30 kills. Not bad at all for his first effort!
Bragging rights

Total Sorbet's computer did an amazing job, and of course the zombies deserve credit! They included Jessie Campbell, Ange Menges (a skeleton),  Prodyck Theas and two Dan Banners!
The demise of Sunbeam at the hands of Ange and the Banner Brothers

After about an hour we finally managed to crash the sim, but not before we had all agreed this is one of the most fun things you can do in OpenSim this season. Which is saying a lot, when you think how many events are planned!

Serra Royale at the landing point

Our second stop is a work in progress, but the progress is already so far along. It's JT Eyre's build on Mobius, dedicated to The Legend of Zelda games. 
This hunt, chase, covers a region as big as 16 sims - but thanks to clever use of collision TPs and levels, it's more like 64 sims, appropriate since it was originally a game for Nintendo 64 ! 
The first rule of Zelda -  cardio !
Our guide, Serra Royale, accompanied us to some of the features of the build, including the Temple of Time and the Lost Forest. 
We also got a view of one of the dungeons, the desert which features in Ocarina of Time. 


Serra tried to quiz us on our Zelda trivia with questions like 'What does the Super Sword do - lucky we had Jessica and Sunbeam with us with better memories than most, but I think our general ignorance showed. It has been several decades since we played though, in our defense.

JT's work is wonderful, with both attention to detail and vast proportions, Serra commented on how quickly he works, using Blender to create many unique parts. The build textures give it an authentic feeling, but it's not stale or dated. Serra's mission is to bring more interactive hunts and quests into open sim, giving people things to do, and this Safari proves that we're well on our way to that. It's a ncie change from SL where everything is about money, too.

This opportunity to see a work in progress was much appreciated by us all, and in no time, having walked, flown, teleported and jumped all over the place, it was time for us to head to our last destination which was on great Canadian Grid.
Hot Rod's Diner


Jen Smith was in SL and the InWorldz for several years before joining Great Canadian Grid some months ago. She is the proprietor of two music venues, a mall and a fine collection of classic cars. I really love the texture work on her Poor Monkey Blues bar, and Hot Rod's Diner is also a great example of 50's chrome and color.
Poor Monkey Lounge, also on Dreamland sim

Today's event was DJ'd by Nox Darkness, and he treated us to some fine rock and roll tunes. That hair has its own zip code, I'm told. The turnout on GCG was very nice, and we were delighted to meet so many local residents, and it was a fun way to end our journey. After that much rushing around, no problem falling asleep tonight! 
Nox Darkness showing that Big Hair is still in style
HG Addresses:  
Outbreak by Total Sorbet and Michelle Thiess  hg.osgrid.org:80:outbreak

Legend of Zelda by JT Eyre    grid.mobius.us:8002  and look for the portal (rotating giant gold ring) to their teleport hub and then go to the portal for sim Meraden - it's a triangle (or 'triforce')

Hot Rods Diner by Jen Smith   login.greatcanadiangrid.ca:8002:dreamland

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